Fruit and Nut Muffins

These have all sorts of things going on - it's like every bite has a new flavour to taste! These muffins are based on a recipe for muffins using just two types of dried fruits so I added in another fruit and some chocolate chips for a little extra oomph!

Despite being really tasty, these also have tons of nutritional benefits. While dried fruit often gets a bad rap for being so full of sugar, it is natural sugar and none of that high-fructose corn crap or over-processed refined sugar. Plus, dried fruits are a decent source of non-heme iron which is important for vegetarians and omnivores alike.
The nuts add healthy fats; the dark chocolate has antioxidants; and the lack of dairy makes these suitable for people who cannot tolerate lactose.
All that makes these a yummy, portable, and healthy breakfast treat!


Makes somewhere between 12 and 24 muffins
(Again with the funny amounts! I halved a recipe that said it would yield 12 and still got 12! Thank goodness I like them... and muffins freeze well!) The amounts below reflect those from the original recipe, they are not reflective of my halved amounts.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup almond milk or other non-dairy milk
1/4 cup crushed pineapple, include the juice
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (I like the dark amber variety)
1/4 cup agave nectar
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/2 cup dried Bing cherries, cut up into quarters (if using whole cherries)
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup non-dairy semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with unbleached cupcake papers or grease with a little non-dairy butter or canola oil spray.

1. Combine the almond milk, pineapple (don't forget the juice), olive oil, maple syrup, and agave nectar in a large bowl.

2. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and allspice. Make a well in the dry mixture and then pour in the milk and pineapple mixture. Stir until just combined, being careful to not over-mix. Gently stir in the fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips.

3. Spoon the muffin mix into the prepared muffin pan. Bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer the muffins to a wire rack to cool completely.

Reference:
This is based on the Fruitcake Muffins recipe from the November/December 2008 issue of VegNews magazine.
My changes included adding in the cranberries and chocolate chips; using half maple syrup and half agave nectar (instead of just maple syrup); and using all-purpose flour in place of a mixture of oat flour and whole-wheat (next time I might try it with half whole-wheat, half AP).
I'd like to try adding in some rolled oats in place of some of the flour.

Raspberry Smoothie

I wish I'd realised I had this smoothie book while I was on antibiotics a couple weeks ago! I was really hoping for some more adventurous ways to eat yogurt... these would have been great! Oh well... :)

I had to have some dental work done today (just a bit of a follow-up to a root canal I had last week - hence the antibiotics) so I figured that was as good an excuse as any to reward myself with a smoothie! Well, I got home around 11 and was starving but still numb. This was a nice way to tide me over until I could eat something a bit more substantial.

Makes 2 small smoothies

Ingredients:
1 cup low-fat or fat-free vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup fat-free milk
1 cup frozen raspberries
3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Method:
Place all the ingredients in the blender and pulse until smooth/most of the chunks have been broken up. Serve immediately.

Reference:
Based on the Raspberry Cream recipe from the book Smoothies and Ice Treats by Lindsay Barnes and Any Shawgo.

Strawberry-Orange Smoothie

In my quest to use up stuff from the kitchen, I have rediscovered the joy of smoothies! :)
Part of this was cleaning up my cookbook shelf and finding a smoothie book I forgot we had!

This one was fantastic!

Makes 1 1/2 high-ball sized smoothies
(no idea how else to measure that! I'd say it was enough for 2)

Ingredients:
1 cup non-fat or low-fat vanilla yogurt (you could use soy vanilla yogurt to make this vegan)
1 ripe banana
1 cup frozen strawberries
4 oz. frozen orange juice concentrate

Method:
Stick all that in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into glasses. Enjoy.

I'm dying to try this with some frozen raspberries or blueberries in place of the strawberries. Or, how good does a triple berry smoothie sound? Yum! :)
Ooh, and how about adding something fun like a splash of rum, vodka, gin, or tequila? ;) Hey, I'm on summer break, I can play! ;)

Reference:
"Super Healthy Shake" from the book Smoothies and Ice Treats by Lindsay Barnes and Amy Shawgo.

Lemon-Blueberry Muffins

Mmmm... nothing says summer like fresh blueberries! These muffins are vegan (and soy-free), low-fat, and a good source of omega-3 fatty acids due to the addition of ground flax seeds. They are also full of blueberries which makes them a great source of antioxidant vitamins! They totally feel like cheating, though ;)

I really don't think the flax seeds affect the taste at all (they do make the muffins look darker) but if you choose to leave them out, use 2 cups of flour instead of only 1 2/3 cups. Flax seeds can be found at health/natural food stores (I get the Bob's Red Mill ones - they can often be found in bulk bins, too). If you have a decent regular grocery store in your area, you may be able to find them there, too.

My changes from the original recipe are in purple. One additional change I will make in the future will be to use fresh lemon juice in place of the lemon extract.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:
1 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup ground flax seeds (I buy the whole flax seeds and grind them in the coffee grinder. They won't provide the nutritional benefits if they are un-ground).
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
Zest of 2 organic lemons (my Microplane is my best friend!)
3/4 cup agave nectar (or 1 cup granulated sugar)
1 cup non-dairy milk (rice, soy, almond)
1/3 cup canola oil or applesauce (this serves as the "egg")
1 tsp. pure lemon extract
1 tbsp. white distilled vinegar
1 1/2 cups fresh organic blueberries

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare muffin pan.

2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, flax seeds, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest.

3. In a large bowl, combine the agave nectar, "milk", oil or applesauce, lemon extract, and vinegar. Mix well. Add the flour mixture to the liquid mixture until just blended (you may have to work out a few lumps). Gently fold in the blueberries.

4. Fill muffin tins about two-thirds full. Bake until the muffins are lightly browned and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, 20-25 minutes. Feel free to lick the spoon - there's no egg so you won't get sick (and the batter is super-yummy!)

5. Let sit for 5 minutes after removing from the oven. Remove the muffins from the tin and cool completely.















Reference:
This recipe was found in the book The Joy of Vegan Baking which was a gift from Nestie Widdel22 so thanks to her. :)
In my opinion, the joy of vegan baking is being able to lick the spoon/bowl/etc... ;) Plus it's so darn yummy - you'd never guess these were egg- and dairy-free!

Fresh Berries with Almond Cream

Yum... what a wonderful low-fat dessert! You will not believe how creamy the sauce is even though I used fat-free milk. :)

Plan at least 5 hours ahead for this!

2 servings

Ingredients:
1/4 cup blanched almonds
1 cup fat-free milk
1/8 cup sugar
3/4 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. amaretto
1/8 cup fresh organic raspberries
1/8 cup fresh organic blueberries
1/4 cup fresh organic strawberries

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Roast the almonds on a baking sheet for 15 minutes until they become light brown. Allow them to cool and then pulse them in a food processor or coffee grinder until they are finely ground.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine the ground almonds, 3/4 cup milk, and sugar. Stirring every minute or two, bring this mixture to a simmer over medium-low heat. Remove from the heat, cover, and let the almonds steep for 1 hour.

3. Strain the mixture over a glass bowl through a fine-mesh sieve, pressing down on the almonds to extract all the liquid. Discard the solids left in the sieve.

4. Bring the almond-milk mixture to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low. Dissolve the cornstarch in the remaining 1/4 cup milk. Gradually stir the cornstarch-milk mixture into the simmering liquid. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the custard thickens. Add 1/2 tbsp. amaretto and stir.

5. Strain the custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a glass bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on top of the custard to keep a skin from forming. Chill at least 4 hours or overnight.

**The custard can be made up to 3 days ahead and refrigerated.**

6. Marinate the berries in the remaining amaretto for at least 2 hours. Just before serving, beat the custard with a wire whisk. Pour the custard over the berries.

Reference:
From The Occasional Vegetarian (Original recipe title was "Mixed Berries with Almond Cream). The only change I made was to use strawberries in place of blackberries. You can make this with whatever berries you have on hand.

Blueberry Breakfast Bars

These yummy bars are very nutritious! They are filled with wonderful blueberry antioxidants and provide a nice dose of protein. Blueberries are also a source of fiber and are low in calories. Despite the use of 3 eggs, I cut these up quite small so they are still relatively low in fat (only 1-2g sat. fat per bar; around 7g total fat).

The combination of dried and fresh blueberries makes these doubly delicious and the crust is amazing!
The photo does not do them justice... lol

Serves 16/Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:
~Crust~
18 graham crackers (according to the original recipe, whole wheat ones are the best. Honey, I couldn't find whole wheat crackers, ones are also yummy!)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
2 tbsp. packed light brown sugar (see note below)
1/8 tsp. salt

~Filling~
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
3 eggs, room temperature
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tsp. grated lemon peel (I always use organic citrus when I need the peel)
3/4 cup dried organic blueberries (a 1/4 lb. package was perfect!)
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup fresh organic blueberries
1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts (see note below)

Method:
*Before you begin, soak the dried berries in a little lemon juice (additional to that listed in the ingredients) for 30 minutes. Drain the liquid before adding to the recipe.

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

2. Process the graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground (you will need about 1 1/3 cups crumbs). Add all the remaining crust ingredients and pulse just until combined. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and bake 8 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

3. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and 1/8 tsp. salt in a small bowl. Beat the eggs, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and lemon peel in a large bowl at medium speed for 1 minute or until frothy and the sugar is dissolved. At low speed, beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture just until blended. Stir in the dried blueberries and lemon juice. Pour the filling over the cooled crust; sprinkle with fresh blueberries and walnuts.

4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is light brown and the edges start to brown. Cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Cut into 16 bars; cool completely in the pan (about 1 hour).

Notes: *Brown sugar rave - Just a quick product rave! I've been using "Wholesome Sweeteners" sugars for a while now and just got their brown sugar after running out of some national brand (I'll protect the not-so-innocent by letting the company remain un-named). Wow! I've never had such molasses-rich brown sugar. Yum...
It's organic and certified fair-trade (yeay!) Plus, it is processed without any animal products/by-products so it's suitable for vegetarians/vegans.

*Toasting walnuts - To toast walnuts, place on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 6-8 minutes or until pale brown and fragrant. Cool.

*Changes I'd like to try :) - The original recipe listed several other options for these bars.
~Soak the dried berries in orange juice for 30 minutes; drain.
~Substitute chopped pecans or slivered almonds for the walnuts.
~Replace the fresh blueberries with raspberries.

*Organics - I realise some people scoff at organics and think they aren't worth the expense. I happen to not feel this way! I can't always find organic everything but I do always try to buy certain things organic. This includes berries, anything I'll be eating/using the peel from, etc. Not only are they healthier, they taste better, and have a lower environmental impact than traditionally-grown products.
Just to add to the rave, organics are also more likely to come from sustainable farms as well as being more likely to be produced fairly. *Jumping down off soapbox* ;)

Reference:
This is the Double Blueberry-Lemon Breakfast Bars recipe from the June/July 2008 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Bread

I managed to find a really good deal on some local strawberries last week but, since I'm the only one in the house who will eat them (!), I needed a quick way to use them up. Strawberry bread it was! :) This was a recipe posted by one of the girls on the Nest - she doesn't have a blog so I'm *publishing* it for her.

My changes:
*The original recipe would have made 2 loaves (9x5x3-inch). I halved it so that's what is reflected here.
*I omitted 1/4 cup chopped nuts (didn't have any on-hand) and used 1/2 chocolate chips instead.
*Rather than halve the amount of vanilla extract, I just left it at 1/2 tsp.
*I also kept the full amount of strawberries instead of halving that.

I'd love to try this with a mix of strawberries and raspberries next time!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk (I used fat-free)
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
1. Lightly grease a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

3. In another bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternatively with the milk, beating until combined after each addition. Use a wooden spoon to stir in the strawberries and chocolate chips. Pour into the prepared pan.

4. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely.


Reference:
Thank-you, msT2B on the Nest! This is based on her recipe for Strawberry Bread.

Blueberry-Lemon Cobbler

This is another entry into the Second Round of the Platinum Chef Challenge.

***Dessert Recipe #2: Lemon-Blueberry Cobbler Pie***

I was just reading through the recipe I have for the lemon-blueberry cobbler and I do not like it at all! Major changes have been made. :)

I was pretty excited when I found out one of the Platinum Chef ingredients for this round was blueberries - for such a small fruit, they are a power house of nutrients! I actually "dropped" a couple cinnamon-sugar-lemon coated blueberries on the cutting board while I was filling the pie crust... wow! They were good! Can't wait to see what the cooked ones taste like. The cooked ones are even better... this pie is so sweet and fruity - I think all the extra lemon I threw in there really worked!

I would have taken a photo of the "slice" I just devoured but I couldn't get a neat piece out of the pie tin to save my life... maybe when most of it is gone (shouldn't take long!) I'll be able to get a photo of the "interior."

For the filling:
2/3 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 pints (4 cups) blueberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
1 pre-baked pie crust (9-inch)

For the topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. lemon peel
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. lemon juice
6 tbsp. melted butter

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
1. In a large bowl, combine 2/3 cup sugar, the lemon peel and cinnamon. Add the blueberries and lemon juice; stir to combine.

2. In another bowl, mix together the dry topping ingredients (1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp. lemon peel, and 1/2 tsp. salt). Add the egg and 1 tsp. lemon juice and toss until crumbly.

3. Spoon the filling into the pre-baked pie crust. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture with the crumbly topping. Drizzle the topping with the melted butter.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the topping is bubbly and browned. Excellent with a scoop of lemon sorbet or, the old stand-by, vanilla ice cream.

Reference: The original recipe came from the August/September 2005 issue of Cooking Pleasures magazine which is published by the Cooking Club of America. www.cookingclub.com

Chocolate-Strawberry Bread

This is a recipe I used for our WC Platinum Chef Challenge (from The Nest). I used a recipe for double-chocolate banana bread (I think the original recipe is on this blog, too) and just changed some things around to make it with strawberries and nuts (two of the challenge ingredients).
Just had a slice of this for "lunch dessert" - wow! It's so worth all the fat and calories ;) I did decide to up the amount of strawberries by just a bit so you get more of the strawberry flavour (especially since that was one of the ingredients in the challenge!)
This was really easy to make and is super-yummy. I'll have to have my fruit-hating husband try it and post about what he thinks. :)

This recipe will make 16 (1 slice) servings

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups fresh strawberries, chopped (one of those 16-ounce containers)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 coarsely chopped walnuts

Method:
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottom and sides of a loaf pan with nonstick spray.

2. In a large bowl, beat the sugar, eggs, and oil at medium speed until mixed. Beat in the vanilla extract. (I used my KA stand mixer for this part; if you don't have a stand mixer, you can use a large bowl with a hand-held electric mixer).

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, cocoa, and baking soda; beat into sugar mixture at low speed until just combined (do not overmix). Use a wooden spoon to stir in the strawberries, chocolate chips, and walnuts.



4. Spoon the batter into a loaf pan. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a tester inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack then remove from pan and cool completely. Wrap the bread in foil and leave it overnight before slicing.


Reference:
This recipe was based on the Double-Chocolate Banana Bread Recipe which can also be found in this blog. The original Chocolate-Banana bread recipe was found in a copy of Cooking Pleasures Magazine which is published by the Cooking Club of America.

Glazed Cranberry-Orange Mini Loaves

I have a 4-slot mini loaf pan from The Pampered Chef, which is where I found this recipe. These are great for brunches. Each slot on the mini-loaf pan holds about 1 1/2 cups... I'll have to play around with this recipe so it will work with a regular sized loaf pan.

Ingredients (makes four mini loaves)
Bread:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. aluminium-free baking powder
1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
1 orange
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup dried cranberries

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp. milk

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray the bottom of the mini loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Chop pecans; add to batter bowl. Mix well and set aside.

2. In a small bowl, microwave butter on HIGH for 45-60 seconds until just melted. Zest orange to measure 1 tbsp zest. Juice orange to measure 1/4 cup juice. Add zest, juice, eggs, and milk to butter; whisk until combined. Add butter mixture to dry ingredients; mix just until dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix. Gently stir cranberries into the batter.

3. Fill each well of the loaf pan with about 1 cup batter. Top batter with additional pecan halves if desired. Bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaves comes out clean and tops of loaves are golden brown. Cool in pan for 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaves from pan; remove to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.

4. For glaze, mix powdered sugar and milk until smooth; drizzle evenly over cooled loaves.

Raspberry Dessert Sauce

Just in time for Memorial Day Barbecues! This is wonderful drizzled over angel food cake, ice cream or sorbet, fresh cut fruit or berries, or chocolate cake.
This sauce can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 1 week.

This recipe will make 1 cup of sauce.

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh raspberries (two half-pints) or 1 12-oz package of frozen raspberries, thawed (see thawing instructions below)
1/3 cup confectioners' sugar
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice

Method:
Place ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Place a fine textured sieve over a bowl and pour in a little of the puree. Using a rubber spatula, push the sauce through the sieve to remove the seeds. Repeat with remaining puree.
Taste sauce (my favorite part!) and add a little more confectioners' sugar if desired.

Thawing instructions:
Thaw frozen raspberries (leave them in the package) in a large bowl of hot tap water for 10-15 minutes before pureeing. You can also thaw them overnight in the refrigerator.